Navionics App on iPad?

comstox

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 29, 2017
Messages
186
I have an old Samsung 10" tablet that I have used Navionics Boating app on for years. I DO NOT have cellular service nor is wi-fi turned on, but the tablet works perfectly. Somehow the internal GPS on that Samsung Tablet does the job. As I travel in my boat it keeps up and it just works! The battery in the Samsung Tablet is getting rather worn out so I thought, "Hey, I will retire the Samsung Tablet and use my iPad." WRONG! I have been told that I have to BUY an external GPS module like a Garmin or Bad Elf to use, OR have cellular service on my iPad. WTH??? My $119 tablet works, but my $350 iPad won't????
Has anybody found a way to accomplish this on an iPad WITHOUT buying the extra GPS module?
 

kaulbr

Seaman
Joined
Aug 12, 2018
Messages
55
Yeah, that sounds right. I don't believe non-cellular iPads have GPS on them. You could turn the hotspot on your phone on and have your iPad use your phone's internet connection. That might work and it would drain less power from your phone as opposed to just using the Navionics app on your phone. I just use my iPhone with the app and bring along a rechargable battery pack to keep my iPhone charged because the app, when running, really drains your phone quickly.
 

southkogs

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 7, 2010
Messages
14,784
Above is correct. Non-cellular iPads do not have GPS. I believe many - if not most - Android tablets have GPS either way.
 

H20Rat

Vice Admiral
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
5,199
Yeah, that sounds right. I don't believe non-cellular iPads have GPS on them. You could turn the hotspot on your phone on and have your iPad use your phone's internet connection. That might work and it would drain less power from your phone as opposed to just using the Navionics app on your phone.

That would only provide data, not GPS, which is what he really needs.

So one other option would be a cheap bluetooth GPS. You can get them on the usual places for $20 or less, and you could have it connected to 12v boat power so you don't have to deal with batteries. Not an ipad guy, so no idea how they handle bluetooth gps, but... worth investigating at least.

As southkogs mentioned, maybe just a new android tablet? Careful of the really (sub $100) cheap ones, they often don't have GPS. (Fire 7 for instance doesn't)
 

cptbill

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
732
If the old tablet still works fine then why not just plug bit in even if you have to create a dedicated outlet for it? minimal expense
 

Sprig

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 2, 2016
Messages
571
You have a multi thousand dollar boat plus all the $$$ you spend on the boat. I just don’t see the reason of trying to go cheap on something like a gps. Buy a hand held gps or a mountable gps and be done with it. Or you may be able to get a new battery put in your Samsung but that would probably cost as much as a hand held gps. And of course you could wire a plug to your boat electrical system.
 
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